


The Many Days of Eddie

by Basmathgirl



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Mental Health Issues, Tissue Warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-01-19 12:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 17,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1469620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basmathgirl/pseuds/Basmathgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loneliness for Eddie inside an institution can be a terrible thing; but sometimes hope can be achieved as we gradually learn about the mystery that surrounds him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thursday

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** all totally my own, but not making any money from it.  
>  **A/N:** God knows where this came from, but I’ll admit I had discussed my friend's schizophrenic relative earlier. I could picture this cold room so clearly as I wrote this (I think I might have stood in it a few times). I've been told there is a The Minor Character vibe to this story.

  
  
gif by [mostly10](http://mostly10.com/post/13933421575/this-might-look-like-the-same-gif-twice-but)   


Stone cold sober; that’s what they said he was. Except he wasn’t. Not deep in his mind. Sober implies being able to act according to your feelings, to have some sort of sense of control; but he didn’t have any of that.

Inside he roared with anger. He wanted to break out and scream at the world. But one glance in the mirror revealed none of that, nothing at all. His reflection merely looked puzzled, chaotic in thought and deed. This wasn’t living a life; this was existing on the outer edges of the galaxy. All around the nebulae of people spun on their ever changing axes, but he remained stationary; a fixed point. He might as well be smouldering in the dirt for all they cared.

She had cared. She had loved him with all her being; had proven it time and time again. All of that was gone now, lost in the mists of time and the bottom of an empty bottle of tablets. Funny how easily pain can be taken away by a pill. 

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Murray. Good old Murray! It must be tea time. What day was it again? Oh yes, Thursday. Lovely Thursday, with its promise of fish tomorrow and a weekend walk around the park, if Lucy visited.

He adjusted his collar as he stood in front of the mirror for another few moments. Just one bite to eat couldn’t hurt, could it? No one was really looking. They didn’t even look when he hid his tablet under his paper napkin. They never noticed. Today he would sneak out another one, and save it for later with the rest. There were almost enough now. He would have a magnificent ending; once he had his walk around the park. 

The only thing that would stop him was her; if he saw her. God he hoped he saw her, just one more time. She was his sun, his shine, his rain. One day she might see him too; they say miracles can happen.

Pray, God damn you! Pray!

He lifted a hand to wipe over his face.

It would be soon, he promised her. Very soon.


	2. Thursday After

“Morning, Eddie! How are you today?” Maria called out to him as she entered his room.

“Morning,” he barely managed to answer. He managed to smile though, much to his disappointment. That would mean he’d be noticed now; she would fix her beady eye on him and expect him to interact, to talk, and maybe to even eat properly. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Did you see the news last night? Wasn’t it terrible!” Maria rambled on, obviously oblivious of the fact he had responded to her. “I never thought I’d ever see that again. My mum says you should expect it after all that happened. But it makes you think…” Maria stopped her meander then and shot a glance out of the window. “I see Ben is up to his old tricks,” she commented. “I’d better go and deal with him. Will you be alright on your own for a minute, Eddie?” she asked without expecting an answer from him, since she was already almost out of the door.

“Fine,” he stuttered out; but she had gone by then.

He looked at his breakfast tray with longing. Not too much on there to cope with, surely? Just some toast, a small tub of marmalade and a cup of tea that was quickly going cold. Only a few mouthfuls, he told himself. He could get away with just shovelling it into his mouth quickly. Nobody would be none the wiser. 

The sight of his hand reaching out, in all its pathetic glory, disgusted him; and he drew it hastily back within the confines of his bedcovers. What was he thinking? He didn’t deserve to eat all that! There were starving children in the world who needed it more, for goodness sake. 

With a sigh he laid his head back down on his pillow, and contemplated the woodchip wallpaper covering. It was bloody boring the first time he’d looked at it; it was even more so now. Thankfully nobody had painted it pink; that would have put the tin hat on it! It would have been nice to be able to put up a few pictures of his own though. Perhaps tomorrow, if he asked nicely. Or if he was still there; God willing.

He rolled over and peered at the bottle of tablets sitting on the side. A little bottle of dreams; or should that be of promises? Both good and broken. 

Closing his eyes, he relished in the fact he had been given five more minutes in bed. Five more minutes to dream of her.


	3. Friday Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** A large part of me really wants to give him his own Donna right now. Perhaps I will eventually.

All that woman Lily’s voice did was rage through his brain. “Shut up! Just shut up!!” he wanted to shout, but all he managed to do was sit passively and glare his very best at her.

“And Eddie,” Lily continued to rabbit on, “remember we discussed this, and we thought that you…”

‘We’? Did she honestly use the word ‘we’ as if he had agreed to a single thing they were proposing?! The nerve of this woman. 

Lily was smiling sweetly at him now as her cheap perfume wafted all over his clothing. It would take hours for that smell to go away. Thank goodness she wouldn’t be rubbing her thick makeup on his shirt, since she never hugged him; she avoided physical contact at all costs. The smile was as false as the rest of her cheery personality.

He blinked his eyes shut, trying to hold in the anger that threatened to storm up and strangle him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and counted to five before attempting to give his answer. “No,” he eventually spat out through his clenched teeth.

The Lily woman actually managed to look affronted for a few seconds, except the waxed friendly face quickly followed. “Nevertheless, the decision has been made,” she told him smugly. “I’ll get the paperwork to you tomorrow, and then we’ll continue from there!”

There was that royal ‘we’ again. Funny how it kept appearing. Did she ever include herself within that properly? Thank goodness she was gathering her things together and getting ready to go. That meant he could get back to his thoughts and dreams; away from her and her scheming. 

“That’s it; go away!” he thought at her. “Leave me alone.” But Lily was completely unaware, or uncaring, of his feelings as she bustled about, picking up folders.

She turned towards him when she reached the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Eddie. This really is for the best,” she said confidently, and then swept out of the room.

He lay there exhausted; he could feel the life draining out of him. The world just drifted away.

 

“Are you okay, Eddie?” the deeply concerned voice of Maria woke him out of his slumbers. She was standing over him and gazing over his features intently. After a few seconds her expression softened. “Aw, Eddie! Was it that bad? It will be alright, honest it will,” she crooned at him in sympathy. Maria even tenderly rubbed a comforting hand down his arm.

He tried to reply, but a lump in his throat prevented him from doing so. 

Maria ran a thumb over his cheek and said, “You look tired. Why don’t I leave you to sleep for a little while longer? I’ll come back later and bring you some cake. Don’t worry; I’ll have a quick word with Murray before I knock off work.” 

“Thank you,” he puffed out with an aching breath.

Maria patted his arm. “Chin up, chicken! Try and have a nice sleep,” she advised him. 

He heard her leave as he focused his attention on the tree outside his window. Sleep would come soon, bringing with it all its comforts; including his precious dreams.

He liked his dreams because she would be there.


	4. Saturday Stroll

Calm down. Just calm down, they kept telling him. How was he supposed to cope if Lucy wasn’t with him for goodness sake! She was the one that escorted him in the park, and nobody else did. Except for today, they told him. Today would be different.

So he sat there in his room like a good little boy, hands on knees, waiting for this new person to arrive while he internally seethed. He heard her long before he saw her; her voice was as soothing as a brick.

“What's ‘e like?” he heard her asking Maria. “Does ‘e bite or anything?”

Maria sighed in exasperation. “No. He’s very quiet; very sensitive, and he has excellent hearing,” she answered meaningfully. “You’ll find that he’s a complete sweetie as long as you treat him right.”

“Does that include a light slap?” the newcomer joked.

Eddie could almost hear Marie scowl as she replied, “We do not slap or anything else. Instead we treat everybody with care.”

“Sorry,” the newbie mumbled sheepishly. “Are there any other last minute instructions before I bottle out of this?”

“No, you should be fine. Are you ready to meet him yet? Knowing Eddie he’ll have worked himself up into a near panic over this, so whatever you’re feeling it won’t be anything in comparison.”

It was at that point that Maria opened the door. “Hello Eddie! I’ve brought you a new visitor to get to know. This is Agnes.”

Eddie threw Agnes a bewildered look.

“Don’t ask,” she immediately commented. “I didn’t choose it. What a god-awful name! Most people call me Aggie, or Ness.”

“The monster?” he queried, pleased with himself for getting the joke out.

Both Aggie and Maria laughed.

“See! I told you he’d be fine,” Maria remarked to Aggie, giving her a playful prod in the arm.

Eddie carried on smiling as he assessed Aggie. She was the human equivalent of a parrot; he’d never seen anyone wear clothing that shouted so many colours at him before. He felt quite dour in comparison.

“I know you are going to hate this, but it is just for today since Aggie is new here,” Marie said to him, and he could feel a sense of doom descend on the moment as she popped back into the corridor. She reappeared with a wheelchair, his symbol for a lack of hope and disaster. “This is only temporary,” she reassured him with a tender touch on the shoulder, “as Aggie doesn’t know the park let alone you yet. But don’t worry; you’ll get a chance to walk.”

His soulful eyes gazed up at her, pleading. “Promise?”

“It’s all arranged,” she agreed.

After that it took hardly any effort to get him into the chair and out of the building.

Outside was slightly overcast but not too chilly. Eddie immediately felt his spirits rise; until Marie waved them off, that is. Then he felt his internal panic start to rise. What if Aggie abandoned him? What if she made him fun of him and placed him somewhere dangerous? What if she took him somewhere he’d never been before? He fought to control his breathing; he didn’t want to give himself away to this stranger, she could do all sorts of damage before anyone would notice.

“Do you want an ice cream, Eddie?” Aggie asked him unexpectedly, distracting him from his spiralling thoughts.

His answering smile and nod was an affirmative but she was pleased she could make sense of his spoken, “Yes please.”

She parked his chair next to an empty park bench. “Won’t be a tick,” she threw at him as she practically bounced enthusiastically over to the ice cream van she’d spotted.

Eddie sat wondering if she had springs in her boots. When the vendor handed over two large cornets he realised how much he wanted that ice cream; he was starving.

He was also feeling extremely full after a few minutes of licking his treat. He caught Aggie watching him intently, and immediately felt guilty.

“Are you going to finish that?” she asked him cagily. 

Oh! Obviously something had been said about his eating habits. He did his level best to nod ‘yes’ and look as though he meant it. He even attempted to bite the cone.

His luck was in because a dog came bounding up to them, eagerly wagging its tail. It was quite a pretty dog, with fluffy light brown and white fur, and a tail that blended in with the rest of its body. It stood expectantly, looking at Eddie, begging him with its eyes to relinquish his ice cream cornet. He didn’t have the heart to refuse, so he lowered the cone towards the dog to let it lick and then grab it.

“Toby!” someone female shouted out in shock. “I am so sorry! He doesn’t normally run off and do this.” The woman the voice and the dog belonged to appeared in Eddie’s sightline, allowing him to form a first impression. She grabbed hold of the dog’s collar as though he was particularly ferocious and gave Eddie a brief guilty glance. “I hope Toby hasn’t upset your brother. I’d better buy him a replacement ice cream,” she said to Aggie.

Aggie couldn’t believe this had just happened. “He’s not my brother,” she answered before she had a chance to stop herself. “And you don’t need to buy him one because he’d finished his ice cream before he gave it to your dog.”

“He did?!” the woman said with great relief and then smiled properly at Eddie. “Toby can be such a greedy pup at times. I honestly thought he was going to run up and bark at you.”

Eddie smiled back at her. She seemed to be genuinely worried about upsetting him, and he liked her dog. “Nice dog,” he said to her.

The woman positively beamed back at him. “He seems to like you too,” she remarked to him as Toby eagerly licked at Eddie’s fingers.

Eddie risked attempting to stroke the dog’s head. He was keenly aware how smooth and soft it felt beneath his fingers; to the point of being almost addictive. In fact he liked it so much he continued to pet the dog’s head, and giggled when the dog moved its head as if to ask for more.

“I’ll have to tell Maria about this when we get back, Eddie,” Aggie commented as she watched rapturous joy play over Eddie’s features. 

“Have you come far?” the woman asked conversational. She was loath to take Toby away when Eddie was enjoying his company so much.

“Harewood House. Just the other end of Lomax Street,” Aggie supplied. “Do you know it?”

The woman shook her head. “No I’m afraid not, but then I am quite new to the area.” She leant down and scratched the top of the dog’s head. “Me and Toby have only been here five weeks.” It was then that she realised how close she was to Eddie, and stepped respectfully back. “I’ll leave you to finish your day and I have a dirty oven begging to be cleaned.”

“Sounds exciting,” Aggie sympathised. “That has to be one of the worse jobs to do.”

“Yes; takes my breath away,” admitted the woman. “Bye then.”

“Bye!” Aggie called out to her as the woman started to walk away. She waited until the woman was outside earshot before remarking to Eddie. “She seemed nice. So far you’ve attracted dogs and women; I wonder if you attract men too?” She snorted at her own joke and got up to steer his chair towards the duck pond. 

Eddie wanted to laugh too when Aggie added, “Perhaps I’ll take you passed the football pitches just in case.”

He could get to like trips out with Aggie; especially if they involved interesting women with dogs.


	5. Saturday Stroll Charm

Aggie steered Eddie along the footpath that flanked the duck pond, chatting away as she did so. He learnt all about her sister, her parents, Nana Pat, and her best friends Amy and Corinne. Not that he minded in the slightest, because most of what she said was highly amusing and full of love. It wasn’t often people spoke that way in front of him; instead he tended to hear gripes and grumbles.

Eddie was brought out of his happy little daydreams where he personally encountered these people when Aggie abruptly stopped the wheelchair. She walked around until she was facing him before she gave him her news. For a moment he dreaded the worse.

“This is it, Eddie. You can have a go at walking this bit if you want,” she told him brightly. “Murray will be along in a minute to check up on me to see if I’ve been looking after you correctly, so don’t forget to say nice things!”

Eddie smiled at her. As if he would do otherwise? He hadn’t enjoyed himself so much since he didn’t know when… Well, he did, but he pushed that thought away. That sort of thing was for nighttime thinking.

Aggie undid his chair restraints and held out a helping hand. Eddie eagerly took the hint and, with her assistance, stood up. “Do you want to hold onto the chair for now?” she offered, and guided him to hang onto the handles. She couldn’t help chuckling at the expression on Eddie’s face; who’d have thought she’d get him to smile like that twice in one day?

Eddie flicked his gaze to the chair seat. “What about you?” he managed to ask.

That caused Aggie to giggle and playfully bat at his arm. “Go on with you! I wouldn’t force you to push around a hulking great lump like me, would I? You’d do your back in,” she told him, glad to get even more smiles out of him.

From the side of them they heard, “Aggie! Is that you? I haven’t seen you in ages!”

They both turned to see a young woman pushing a buggy with a young girl sound asleep in it. “Hello, Nicki! How have you been?” Aggie immediately greeted her. “Hasn’t your Emily grown?!”

Nicki looked down at the sleeping child. “She sure has! They don’t stay babies for long. We’re all fine, thanks. How about you? What are you up to?” She cautiously looked at Eddie, obviously not sure what to make of him.

Aggie caught the look. “This is Eddie; he’s my new boyfriend. As you can see he is capable of talking the hind legs off a donkey. This is our first date and I’ve hardly been able to get a word in edgeways. Not to worry though. He’s taking me back to his bachelor pad in Harewood House later,” she joshed, thumbing a gesture towards the man standing by her side. She was desperate to make him feel easy in this situation.

“Careful, Eddie; she’s a gold-digger,” Nicki playfully warned him. “She’ll take all your money before she steals your heart.”

“I’ve told him that I expect at least a dinner and some dancing before he has his wicked way with me; it’s only fair after all,” Aggie drily commented.

“Too true,” Nicki readily agreed. “Are you still at your mum’s?” When Aggie confirmed she was, Nicki continued, “I’ll phone you later and you can tell me all the secrets you’re keeping from Eddie here.”

“I can’t hide anything from him! He wheedles the truth out of me every time. I’ll talk to you later then,” Aggie said, allowing her friend to move away.

“Yeah, catch you later. Bye Aggie! Bye Eddie!” Nicki called out as she walked away.

Aggie was amazed. She had walked through this park with her mum’s dog hundreds of times and not met anyone she knew, but coming out with Eddie had resulted in her meeting an old friend, forming a new one, _and_ talking to a few blokes down by the football pitches. “Blimey! You’ve done it again. How do you do that?” she asked Eddie in awe. “You’re magic. That’s it for definite; I am coming back out with you next Saturday but when we do, we are going to buy a lottery ticket. You are proving to be my lucky charm, Eddie.”

Eddie smiled smugly to himself. She was proving to be his lucky charm too. Hopefully she would stay that way, even if he couldn’t provide the dancing


	6. Saturday Sorrow

Where was she? Eddie pounded his head in desperation on the back of his easy chair. Aggie was supposed to come today and she hadn’t. Gone to a friend’s wedding they had said.

It wasn’t fair! He’d been looking forward to today all week!

“Stop being a baby,” Maria admonished him. “I remember when you complained she was taking the place of Lucy and now you can’t bear to be without Aggie. I don’t know…”

Eddie tried scowling at her from beneath his long fringe, but he didn’t know that his puppy dog eyes caused a lessened effect. 

“Not fair!” he managed to complain.

“Tell me about it,” Maria said tritely, and picked up the pile of dirty bedclothes she had just stripped off his bed. She then thought better of it, and turned to swipe his fringe out of his eyes for him. “Sorry, Eddie; but it’ll be back to normal next week and you can see your harem again.”

His eyebrows shot up into his hairline in surprise.

“I’ve heard about you,” Maria teased, “chatting up every woman that walks by you in the park by luring their dog to make a fuss of you!”

Eddie smirked in delight. The woman he’d seen that first day with Aggie just happened to walk her dog at the same time that they made their way through the park; he was sure of that. And Aggie’s friend with the little girl had shown up a few times too; sometimes with a dog and sometimes without.

Seeing his mood brighten, Maria asked him, “Shall I leave your breakfast there a bit longer for you to try eating it?”

Eddie nodded his gratitude.

As Maria left him to head for the laundry chute he decided he might try that pot of fruit yoghurt after all. He might even try to come up with some chat up lines, because you never knew when a harem could be added to.


	7. Sunday Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Sunday and Eddie isn’t looking forward to the day.

“Morning Eddie!” Murray cheerfully greeted him as he opened up the curtains to let the Sunday sunshine stream in through the windows.

Eddie forced himself to mumble back, “Morning.” He’d kept the bedcovers close to his head as he peeped out to blink at the intrusion of light into the room. From somewhere off into the distance he could make out the sound of the bells of St Michael's greeting the day.

Murray strode towards the bed and grinned down at Eddie’s wary expression. “You can’t laze about in bed all day, young man. There are things to do, places to see and people to meet,” he said firmly.

“Have no one,” Eddie answered as best he could. He hated Sundays. Sundays in here were full of other people’s visitors, often with small children who ran about and glared at him in confusion when he didn’t immediately reply to their questions. They didn’t mean to; he knew that they had no idea that he couldn’t respond quickly to their queries. But it left him feeling stupid and helpless nevertheless.

Sometimes the Rev Dickenson came in with a load of volunteers, and the entire floor of residents was taken on a trip somewhere. Last time they had gone to Colchester Zoo. Eddie had loved every minute of it when his heart wasn’t breaking for the animals inside the compounds. He knew what it was like to be contained like that despite all the good intentions of the zookeepers. 

As Eddie was thinking glumly about this his attention was snapped back to Murray when he said, “Oh yes you have! Believe it or not, Eddie, but you’ve got a visitor coming today.”

What? Eddie was stunned. Who would want to come and visit him on a Sunday when they could be somewhere else entirely? “Who?” he stumbled out, as his brain whirled with possibilities. 

“Ah, that would be telling,” Murray replied mischievously. “But I will tell you that they will turn up after we’ve finished your physical therapy.”

Eddie positively glowed with excitement, Murray was happy to note. This little experiment was going along very nicely. 

“They will?” Eddie sought to confirmation.

“Oh yes,” Murray supplied. “Now let’s get you moving.” And with those words he pulled back the bedcovers and helped Eddie out of the bed.

 

An hour or so later Eddie was sitting in the dayroom feeling very spruced up. It had been a very long time since he had worn his Sunday best, and it made him feel important somehow. The sun was still shining outside and the garden looked glorious with its June blooms. There was even a soft summer breeze wafting in through the open patio doors to add to the effect, bringing with it the scents of the flowers outside.

There was a sudden cough to Eddie’s side, and he looked up to see Murray standing there with an expression that was very pleased with itself. “I’m back,” Murray announced. “And I’ve brought someone who wanted to see you.”

Eddie glanced eagerly behind Murray, expecting it to be Maria and her granddaughter. Instead it was a figure he normally only ever saw in the park. He was pleased to note that she wasn’t alone but had brought her dog.

“Say ‘hello’ to Georgina,” Murray suggested to him.

“Hello Eddie,” Georgina greeted him before he could manage to puff out a sound. “They said I could bring Toby in to see you.” Toby at this point was licking Eddie’s hand like he was a long lost friend that he wasn’t prepared to let go of.

The smile that lit up Eddie’s face almost split him in two. He could not have been happier if he had tried.

“We polished him up for you,” Murray told Georgina, pointing at Eddie’s shiny new pin appearance. “So feel free to take him for a spin.”

Georgina suddenly looked anxious. “Is it okay to take him outside? I’d love to give him a walk outside to blow the cobwebs away, but if you think…”

Murray hastily placed a comforting hand on her arm. “Don’t worry, love. Take him anywhere you like within the grounds; Eddie loves having a good nose about. And if you want to take him further just let us know beforehand.”

“Okay,” Georgina answered, and blushed a delightful colour. “I’ll stick to the grounds for now. I’m not sure if Eddie will like me doing this.”

It was in Eddie’s mind to shout and squeal with glee that he wanted to go out with her and Toby, but all he managed to say was, “Nice! I want to.”

Murray smiled encouragingly at Georgina. “There you go! It’s official. Now go and have some fun together, and I’ll see you later. Any problem, just come straight back and see me; I’ll be here until 6pm.”

“Thank you,” Georgina replied with a happy and relieved grin. “We’ll get going then.”

She confidently took hold of the handles of Eddie’s wheelchair and began to push him out into the well-tended garden outside. Georgina had seen Aggie do this lots of times, so it couldn’t be that difficult to deal with Eddie she told herself. 

When she stopped to adjust the dog lead that was threatening to wrap itself around his knees, Georgina noticed that Eddie was a bit tearful. Feeling horrified that she had upset him, Georgina tenderly asked, “What’s the matter, Eddie?”

She was deeply touched when Eddie weakly gripped her hand and said, “Thank you!”

Then and there she resolved to return another day for him.


	8. Monday Blues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** contains a reference to a suicide attempt.

Maria bustled into the room amazed that Eddie was still in the bed and that the curtains were tightly shut.

“What’s got into you, Eddie? Come on, rise and shine,” she encouraged him as she swiftly crossed the room and pulled back the curtains to let the morning light in. Gazing back at him she grew concerned. “Eddie?”

It wasn’t like him to make no sound or at least answer with some sort of a gesture. In a blink of an eye she was by his bedside and drawing back the covers. Underneath them Eddie lay; his stillness scared her. Reaching out to grab his wrist she sought desperately for a pulse and then noticed the empty bottle lying on its side on the floor.

“Murray!” she yelled out in terror, and frantically yanked on the emergency cord.

Within seconds Murray appeared accompanied by the duty doctor, Dr Symons. “Call an ambulance,” he immediately ordered.

Maria was reeling. Why had he done this? He had been doing so well in the last few months, since Aggie and her friends had lightened his life. “Oh Eddie,” she quietly sobbed to herself. Had she failed him? She hadn’t meant to.

Murray comforted her as the paramedics wheeled Eddie away. “It’s not your fault,” he insisted. “I think it had something to do with that Georgina; he was a bit down last night after she left but I thought it was to do with his birthday.”

“What about his birthday?” Maria weakly asked. Was there a problem? She had planned a birthday cake and a treat for him.

“Let’s go and talk elsewhere,” Murray suggested, nodding towards the open doorway leading out to the corridor where several anxious residents were hovering, hoping to glean some information. 

In the staff room they found Aggie sitting pensively waiting for them. “How is he? Is he going to be alright?” she immediately asked, giving them hardly a chance to enter the room.

“Dr Symons thinks we might have caught him in time,” Murray consoled her. “Do you know what happened yesterday that might have caused this?”

Aggie nodded glumly, and sniffed back a tear. “I saw Georgina the other day. She’s been getting a lot of grief from her family about visiting Eddie. They think she is wasting her time coming here to be friends with a… well, they weren’t very nice about him, let’s leave it at that.”

Maria shook her head in disbelief. “What did she tell him then? I hope she did it nicely.”

“I’ve no idea,” admitted Aggie. “Is there ever an easy way to tell someone you’re going to stop seeing them?”

~~

“Oh Eddie, why did you do it?”

Words he had heard time and time again in his life. Why? Because what else was there? He wanted to wipe himself out of this existence.

She stroked his hair and wondered, “I bet your stomach hurts right now.”

Hurt? That wasn’t the half of it. How did that even compare to his heart breaking? He was being abandoned again; another light in his life snuffed out because he wasn’t right. Why was he never right? He thought Georgina was his friend; he was sure she had told him that. She had also told him she might come back, that all she needed was a little break to get her head around it all. If she was certain she could fight off her family’s misgivings. 

If.

One of the worse words in the English language.

He turned his head into his pillow. He didn’t want to keep doing this, making new friends who were then forced to leave him on his own. Everybody left since she had died… His heart threatened to crush him again as the thought swirled around his head. She had died and left him all alone, forcing him into this existence; if it could be called an existence.

The tears soaked his pillow as he gave up keeping them in and hidden. Who really cared?

“I care. Don’t forget that, my darling.”

His soul threatened to wrench him apart as he heard the words he so desperately wanted to hear. Just once more, please! Once more, he begged.

“I’m here. Always have been; always will be.”

A silent scream of agony passed his lips. Save me. Please save me. 

For a moment he could feel the mattress beside him dip, the warmth of her body as she lay next to him, her comforting embrace as she wrapped her arms around him, placing a tender kiss on his temple.

“Shh. It will be okay. I’m here now.”

Feeling her love again soothed his troubled soul, and his mind eased into blackness and deep sleep. His dreams were peaceful as he slept.

When he woke he could have sworn she told him, “Don’t worry; I’m sending someone to find you.”

Finally he felt hope.


	9. Tuesday Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** image for Craig suggested and supplied by [beachy_geek](beachy-geek.livejournal.com).

“Why do I have to be here?” a petulant youth protested when Murray directed him and the woman with him to sit down in the staff room.

“You know why,” the woman snapped back, “so don’t start!”

Murray eyed the lad cautiously. “Are you sure he should be allowed anywhere near my residents? They need people who are sure they want to be here.”

“Mr Palmer, I assure you that Craig will behave himself and act respectfully towards your patients; or the Court will deal with him appropriately,” the woman spoke to appease Murray.

“But they are vulnerable,” Murray insisted.

“I ain’t no mugger or abuser,” the lad called Craig defended himself. “I ain’t never hurt no one.”

Murray tried to work out the truth behind all the negatives in the lad’s speech, and went by the tone of his words. “Has Mrs Matthews explained the type of people who are resident here?” he asked Craig.

Craig looked briefly at Mrs Matthews for reassurance before answering, “I know some of them are nutters and others aren’t with it.”

Murray tried not to roll his eyes at the inappropriate language or attitude. Boy was his work going to be cut out with this one! “I’m sure you’ll fit in wonderfully,” he said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “Let’s get you an apron and you can start as soon as possible.”

“What! I’m cleaning?!” Craig cried out indignantly.

“That’s only the start,” Murray replied, smiling at him. Yes, loads of work… 

“Goodbye then, Craig,” Mrs Matthews said as she stood up. “I’ll pop by tomorrow to see how you are getting on. I’m sure Mr Palmer will look after you tremendously well.”

Craig stood too. “Bye Mrs Matthews; see ya then.”

For some reason Murray wasn’t feeling as chipper as she sounded when she left. Why couldn’t they send him someone who actually wanted to work there for a change?

 

An hour later they were up on the first floor, outside Eddie’s room. 

“Why can’t he carry out his own breakfast tray?” Craig asked.

Murray expected him to add in that he was not anyone’s slave at any moment. “Because Eddie can hardly hold himself up at times let alone a tray.”

“What’s a matter with him then? He doesn’t look that ill and he isn’t some old granny,” Craig remarked as they entered Eddie’s room and found Eddie sitting patiently in a chair by the window.

Eddie regarded him with his usual steady gaze. Murray often thought that the world would be astonished if they could only know what thoughts were inside that head.

“Looks can be deceiving and Eddie can hear every word that comes out of your mouth, so zip it!” Murray answered. He then turned his attention to the pensive Eddie before him and sought to sooth his nerves. “Got another live wire for you to interrogate, Eddie. I hope you enjoyed your breakfast.”

“He’s hardly touched a thing,” Craig commented, and bit back any further remark when Murray glared at him.

Murray placed a protective hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “Food can be a challenge to some people. You’ll find that it isn’t always a matter of not liking it.” He smiled then at Eddie. “Is there anything else before I take young Craig away from you, Eddie? Feeling any pain?”

Eddie slowly shook his head. He knew Murray was worrying about him still after all that recent business, so he couldn’t be angry. “No pain,” he answered honestly as he wished Craig would stop looking at him as though he would combust at any moment. He was even tempted to stick his tongue out for a second.

 

Two days later Murray walked in to find Craig reading to Eddie. It hadn’t been an easy task to convince Craig that it was possible to read to Eddie and it would be enjoyed; and then it had been hard to get Craig to actually crack open a book and start reading aloud. It was soon evident why Craig had been so reluctant. His tone was monotonous as only the truly bored can attain.

“Craig, this isn’t a school assembly,” Murray had pointed out. “Eddie actually wants to hear the story.”

“How do you know that?” Craig had asked as he peered into Eddie’s face for a sign of said interest.

Murray sighed. “Because Eddie asked for this book quite specifically.”

“How did he do that then?” Craig was quite suspicious of this preference.

Murray picked up the book and thrust it into Craig’s hands. “There are ways and means of asking if you actually bother to try. He may have trouble getting out whole sentences but he certainly isn’t daft!” 

“Oh, all right then,” Craig had answered, disbelieving this piece of information. “I’ll give it a go.”

“Good!” Murray said with relief. “I’ll be just down the corridor dealing with Doreen’s feet. Unless you’d much rather deal with them for me…?”

Craig shuddered. “No thanks! Reading to Eddie here is fine.” He then turned to regard Eddie as Murray left them alone in the room, and pondered his next statement. “You know…,” he began, “I think my mum would like you. She has a thing for lanky blokes who come across as a bit intellectual.”

‘He thinks I look intellectual?’ Eddie thought that was unusual! Not that anyone could stick such a label on Craig; quite the opposite. But then looks can be deceiving, especially when Craig stopped feeling so embarrassed about reading aloud and got into the story. He’d been quite disappointed that they had run out of time the day beforehand and the demise of the pirate prince had not been revealed. It had been a lot of fun seeing the play of emotions on Craig’s face just before he had left Eddie on his own for the night. Where did people like Craig go to after dark?

Craig reached the end of a chapter and Eddie steeled himself to ask a question. “Where d’you live?” he managed to ask.

“Me?” Craig looked very surprised, and slightly flattered, to be asked this question. “I live with my mum down North Street. Do you know it? We’re not that far from the Chinese,” he supplied. 

Eddie shook his head. “No. I don’t.”

“That’s a shame. I like it down there. There’s loads of shops nearby and we’re right ‘round the corner to my nan. She has trouble remembering things these days. Mum reckons she’s got Alzheimer’s and worries a lot about her. Mum worries about everything and everybody,” Craig told him conversationally. He suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! I know who you remind me of. You look just like my Uncle Steve. Ah, I am so glad I finally worked that out. It’s been bugging me.”

Eddie smiled back at him whimsically. He’d never been compared to a relative before, and he found he quite liked it. Sort of made him feel like part of someone’s family for a change.

  


  
Murray had to laugh the following week when some woman came storming into the home, demanding to be shown where Craig was. It had been young Harrison who had to initially deal with her, and he anxiously rung Murray to ask if it was okay to let the woman up onto the first floor.

Readying himself to deal with the case where the woman might want more than reassurance from Craig, Murray had allowed her entry up onto the corridor, going to meet her first.

“Can I help you?” he immediately asked the woman. In any other situation she would have looked quite welcoming, but seeing as she seemed eager for a spat he was feeling less than enthusiastic to see her.

“Yes!” she instantly answered him. “I’m looking for my son, Craig. I was told he’s been coming here and I want to know why. Is this some sort of prison?”

“I certainly hope our residents think not,” he had replied as charmingly as he could. “Craig was brought here by Mrs Matthews as part of their job experience scheme. Didn’t anybody notify you?”

“No they didn’t,” the woman informed him as her anger seemed to start to deflate. “Has he been behaving himself?”

Murray smiled. “We had a few hiccups to begin with, but he has settled in nicely and made some friends here.”

“Has he?” she asked suspiciously.

Yes, Murray had already gained the impression that Craig didn’t make friends easily; but the lad had tried really hard in the past week to fulfil his potential. Surely he had to gain points for that?

“Right now he is encouraging Eddie to eat his breakfast if you want to have a peek,” Murray offered, and indicated towards a door further down the corridor. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” 

The woman shrugged self-consciously. “Oh, go on then.”

He held out a hand to guide her, suggesting she follow his footsteps. When they reached Eddie’s room, Murray brought up a finger to his lips and gestured that they keep quiet. Then he took hold of the handle and turned it.

The door opened quietly to reveal Eddie sitting by the window at his small table, and Craig was seated in front of him.

“I can’t see why you shouldn’t eat the yoghurt. After all it has already died,” Craig was reasoning.

Eddie stifled a laugh. He’d never heard that excuse to eat yoghurt before! “It’s wrong,” he merely answered.

“How can it be? I mean, look at it! It’s sitting there all creamy and fruity, just gasping to be eaten by you. Stands to reason that you should do as it asks,” Craig continued. He then waved a teaspoon of it in front of Eddie’s face before landing it on his bottom lip. Craig smiled broadly when Eddie gulped it down.

“Hello, Craig. There’s someone here to see you,” Murray announced, accidentally making Craig jump at the intrusion.

Craig fearfully gazed back at the two visitors. “Mum! What are you doing here?” he answered.

“Came to see what you were up to,” she replied shyly. “I thought you’d gone and got yourself into trouble again, but Mr Palmer here has been telling me nice things about you.”

“Did he?” Craig proudly smiled at the pair of them standing in the doorway. “Come and meet Eddie, Mum. We’ve just been eating yoghurt.”

His mum stepped further into the room. “Hello Eddie. I’m Craig’s mum, but you can call me Natalie,” she introduced herself. “And if you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t half look like our Steve!”

“Told you,” Craig smugly commented to Eddie. “If you’re not careful she’ll be offering to make you biscuits next.”

“Craig!” Natalie instantly warned him. “I wouldn’t do such a thing.” 

“My mate Jake,” Craig retorted triumphantly as his mother blushed.

“Shut up!” she softly chided. “They’ll think I’m nuts at this rate.” Natalie then turned her attention onto Eddie to remark, “He’s a know-it-all, but his heart’s in the right place when he isn’t being led astray.”

“Mum, he doesn’t need to hear that,” Craig practically wailed with embarrassment. 

Seeing Craig’s discomfort, Murray came to his rescue by offering, “Shall we go and get you a cup of tea, Mrs Brown? Craig can come and meet you once Eddie has finished with him.”

“Oh yes, right… that’d be perfect,” Natalie stammered. With a feeble wave of her hand, she said, “Bye Eddie! I’ll see you later, Craig.”

Trying not to chuckle, Murray led her away and back downstairs to the staffroom.

As soon as they entered the staffroom, Natalie burst into her apology. “I’m so sorry that I came storming down here like this, but I’m not used to Craig doing anything right for long. And I am really surprised that he has made a friend in that Eddie fella. Who would have thought that of him?” She then shook her head in wonder. “Craig just ain’t the caring type as a rule.”

Murray indicated that she should sit herself down whilst he made them a cup of tea. “You’d be surprised the golden effect Eddie has on people,” he stated as he placed a teabag into two cups. “I really don’t know how he does it, but it’s like he forces out any good feeling a person ever had.”

“Thanks,” Natalie said as a mug of tea was placed in front of her. “I’m not saying that Craig is all bad, but it’s like his skin is made of prickles at times. He wasn’t always like this, but he changed when his dad…” She left the rest of that sentence unsaid; since it didn’t really need saying.

There was a nod of understanding from Murray. “It’s a common story, I’m afraid. Still… it’s good to know this place is helping Craig move on and become a responsible adult. We don’t always have our successes.”

“He won’t hurt him, will he?” she suddenly asked with deep concern.

“Which ‘he’ are we referring to here?” Murray queried, ready to jump on the defensive. 

Natalie blushed with embarrassment. “I’m talking about Craig possibly harming Eddie, without meaning to, obviously. Not that I expect he would, but you never know since my Craig hasn’t been anywhere near someone who can’t… thingamajig.”

“Ah! Serious things like thingamajig have been taken into consideration,” Murray assured her with a pleasant smile. “Craig seems to have settled in quite well here; surprisingly well, but we do keep an eye on him.”

“Thank you, Mr Palmer… I mean, Murray,” she answered with sincerity. “I appreciate all that you’ve done for him here, and I shall make sure he shows his gratitude.”

“Just make sure he turns up each morning, and we’ll take that as read,” Murray kindly replied. “Is there anything else you wanted to ask while you’re here?”

“Not for now, thanks.” She smiled warmly at him. 

“In that case, I’d better get back to Eddie before Craig tries to overfeed him,” Murray added conversationally.

“About that Eddie; will he ever be cured?” she wondered as she stood up.

“Depends what you mean by ‘cured’,” Murray answered. “It was lovely to meet you.” He shook her hand. “If you have any more questions, you know where to find me.”

“I’m sure I will,” she replied as he left.

Murray thought about her as he went, wondering if his instincts about her were correct. Only time would tell.


	10. Tuesday Troubled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** contains a seizure but nothing graphic.

As Murray escorted Craig’s mum away from them, Eddie found himself faced with an embarrassing situation.

The teaspoon, now devoid of any yoghurt, was wavering about in Craig’s hand as he fought off his anger. “You know what? The more I think about it, the more I can’t believe Mum did that! Who does she think she is coming here like that? I’m not some stupid little kid, for f…” He then caught Eddie eyeing him warily, so he halted the swear word that threatened to spill out. “Sorry, Eddie, but she makes me SO MAD!”

Eddie tried his hardest to look sympathetic.

Craig leapt up then and paced about on the carpet in front of him. He suddenly rounded on Eddie. “Don’t try to defend her! I saw the look she gave you, as if she thought you’d fall all over her like every other bloke does.”

Oh! Eddie was stunned. Where had all this come from? Craig was starting to scare him now, and he anxiously averted his gaze.

“Eddie?” Craig sounded much more gentle now, and he was hunched down by Eddie’s side, trying to catch his attention. “I’m really sorry, Eddie. I didn’t mean to…” He swept a hand through his short hair, and sought the right words to make this better. “Mum forgets I’m not twelve anymore, listening to her and Dad fight all the time over his latest bit of stuff. And I know she cares about me, but…” A hand was placed on Eddie’s slim forearm to show Craig’s sincerity. “I’m a big boy now, I can look after myself. If I couldn’t do that I wouldn’t be here, helping you face a stupid pot of yoghurt.” Craig then gave a mirthless chuckle. “Not that yoghurt has a way to show its intelligence.”

“It’s thick,” Eddie commented. 

Craig fell about laughing, barely managing to hold himself upright as he held onto Eddie’s arm. “You are wonderful. Do you know that?” he queried when he calmed down. “If I could, I’d take you home with me.”

Eddie frowned. “I’m not a dog.”

Craig patted his arm. “I know; but it doesn’t stop people fussing over you.” He then smiled knowingly at Eddie. “I’ve seen you, so don’t deny it. You’ve got Aggie wrapped around your little finger, going out of her way to bring in that chocolate you like,” he said, waggling his index finger in emphasis. “I bet even Mum would get all possessive.” An idea clearly swept its way across his mind, and he leaned forward to ask, “How about it, Eddie? Would you let my mum become one of your groupies? It doesn’t have to be permanent; just enough to get her off my back.”

Groupies? Of all the cheek! As if he had ever encouraged such behaviour, let alone actually seen it. Eddie opened his mouth to try and voice a protest. “I don’t…” Then the weakness overcame him again, his arms felt like lead and his throat constricted. His breathing changed, as oxygen tried to force its way in.

Craig’s expression changed from playful to deeply concerned. “Eddie? Eddie!” he called out, and reached out for the alarm cord that conveniently hung nearby. “What’s happening?” he anxiously asked when Murray raced in a few seconds later. 

“A seizure,” Murray threw back at him as he checked Eddie’s pulse rate. “Help me get him into the recovery position.”

They jointly manoeuvred Eddie onto the floor and rolled him safely onto his side, out of harm’s way. “Was it me? Did I cause this?” Craig tearfully wondered. “I didn’t mean to, honest I didn’t.”

“No, lad,” Murray reassured him; but Craig didn’t seem all that convinced. He hopped agitatedly from foot to foot as Eddie squirmed on the floor.

When Murray thought to see how Craig was faring, he was on the verge of disappearing out of the room. Knowing he couldn’t deal with Craig’s apprehension right at that moment, Murray kept his attention on his patient. He then tenderly stroked Eddie’s hair to give him some comfort. “It’s okay, Eddie. You’ve just had a bad turn,” he told him calmly. “Nothing to worry about. We’ll put you onto your bed in a moment, and you can have a nice sleep.”

Once he gained his bearings, Eddie gazed up at him with wild eyes. “Again?”

“I’m afraid so,” Murray admitted.

\--

Eddie watched the slow progress of the spider as it made its way across the carpet. For one moment it looked as though it would make straight for him as he lay on the bed, face down over the edge, carefully assessing the possible danger of the hairy-legged threat.

Fortunately, when the spider was within 60 cm of him it decided to change direction and headed towards the opposite wall instead. Eddie breathed a sigh of relief. Actually it was more than a sigh. If he was capable of the action he would have got down on his knees and gave thanks to God. But he didn’t. Instead he silently prayed, but without the fervour his inner prayers had taken before the spider had skewed off.

It was rare for his prayers to be answered; then again, it was rare for him to bother praying. “Stuff and nonsense!” his mother used to say, whilst his father had silently cringed. It had been a nice act of teenage rebellion to defy her by believing in God. Not that it had helped him much over the years. 

With a hesitant hand, he reached out and touched the fluffy sheepskin rug that lay by the side of his bed. It felt soft, warm and inviting to his lonely fingers. It wasn’t often that he got to feel different textures. There was his food, of course; but only babies ate without using cutlery. And sandwiches troubled him with their minefield of germs and… fillings. Fillings that could be as mysterious as they were tasteful. Who knew what exactly went into them? One incident of food poisoning was enough, thank you very much. 

His gaze shifted towards the small table by the window that he often sat at, and had been sitting at sharing a small meal with Craig when the problem had occurred. To think a strapping lad like Craig had been frightened enough to run off. 

Eddie hung his head in shame; his fingers continuing to caress the woollen strands of the rug beneath him. He had scared another potential friend away, and it never was easy to deal with. Perhaps Murray would speak to Craig on his behalf? Anger exploded within him. As if that would do any good! Craig would be back home by now, being hugged by his mother. Well, he assumed he was being hugged by his mother, since that’s what mothers are supposed to do, they told him. The fact that his own had been different had nothing to do with it. 

There were whispers suddenly outside his door, followed by a cautious knock. Eddie lifted his head, expecting to see that awful woman with the equally awful perfume, who swanned in every now and then.

The door squeaked open to about a third of the way and a head peeped round. A female head appeared, but not the one he’d been expecting. “He’s in there, so go on. Go and apologise,” the woman that Eddie now recognised as Natalie frantically whispered to someone.

To Eddie’s surprise, Craig almost threw himself into the doorway, and looked sheepishly towards the bed. Eddie tried to smile encouragingly.

“Hello, Eddie,” Craig stammered out; obviously fraught with embarrassment. “I came to er… to say sorry… for making you go all…” There was a vague waving gesture with his hands to demonstrate what he had seen. “…And for not sticking around.”

Natalie stepped into the room behind Craig; as if she were trying to cut off his retreat. “He really is sorry, Eddie. I found him standing outside the house looking like a wet week,” she explained as cheerfully as she could. “He’s not seen anyone be ill like that before, you see.”

Eddie tried to push himself up to greet them properly, and failed miserably. He turned pathetic eyes up to them, and uttered the word, “Help.”

“Oh! Of course,” Craig immediately answered as he bound forward to easily lift Eddie up off the mattress, and then eased him into a sitting position. “Are you feeling better now?” he anxiously asked.

Closing his eyes momentarily in gratitude, Eddie replied, “Yes, thank you.” 

Natalie bustled about tidying the bedcovers around him whilst Craig regarded him with relieved fondness.

“Is there anything you want me to do?” Craig wondered, obviously wanting to make amends.

Eddie wearily pointed towards the book sitting on the table. “Read to me, please,” he managed to say, much to his relief.

Craig shyly smiled and Natalie took hold of Eddie’s hand briefly. “I’ll go and see if I can rustle you up a cup of tea,” she promised softly.

He settled back into his pillow, waiting for Craig to continue reading the saga he had started several days ago, and Natalie made her way to where Eddie suspected Maria was sitting. It didn’t matter that he had fallen asleep by the time she returned to the bedroom, because that wasn’t the point.

The point was that he hadn’t scared them away. Instead they had raced back to him; Craig and his mum. Perhaps those prayers were working after all? Wouldn’t that have annoyed his mother…


	11. Thursday Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to really thank anyone who has bothered to read this far. It's a slow journey towards finding out about Eddie's life.

It had become Craig’s mission to take extra care of Eddie since the seizure incident. There was no way he would abandon him and run off like that again. Murray had been very understanding, and had promised him to arrange some first aide classes as soon as possible, with the possibility of further training in the future. All in all, Craig felt as though he belonged with these people who obviously cared about him; and it was a really good feeling. 

For the time being, he was trying to make Eddie’s life more colourful even if he was resisting the idea of patterned underwear rather than his usual whites. “You’re just being old fashioned,” Craig amiably argued as he opened the top drawer to place Eddie’s clean pants in. “Everybody wears fancy stuff these days.”

“I’m not everyone,” Eddie replied, using that slight pout that showed his complete disapproval. 

“I know,” Craig retorted and laughed. This was a battle he would not easily win. Trying to get all the garments in, he had to manoeuvre a small bound album out of the way, resting it on the top edge of the drawer; and inevitably it tumbled to the floor. “Oh bugger! I didn’t mean to do that,” he commented to himself. When he bent down and picked it up a single photograph fell out. 

The faint gasp from Eddie wasn’t heard as Craig’s attention fixated on the picture of two people smiling on a sunny beach. Judging by their clothing, the photo had been taken more than a few years ago; but the smile the young couple shared would never get old. 

“Is this you, Eddie?” Craig asked with delight as he fingered the precious photograph. “You look all… I dunno, but then I don’t know what I expected you to look like when you were young.” He flipped over the picture and read out loud what was written on the back. “‘Brighton with Carla.’ Who’s Carla?”

Eddie gulped against the inevitable question. It had been a long time since someone had said her name, even in passing. “W…w…wife; she was my wife,” he breathily replied.

“Really?!” Craig sat stunned for some moments, and then peered intensely at the woman that had once been married to Eddie. “She was very pretty,” he commented. “Does she live near here?”

Eddie shook his head, trying to control his emotions as he answered, “No, she died.”

There was a strangled cry as Craig instantly dropped the photo and hastily scrabbled on the floor to pick it up; using the action to cover his embarrassment. “Nobody told me you’d been married,” he said weakly. “How…?” He let the question halt on his lips, not knowing how to phrase his query. 

Taking a deep breath, he stood and turned to his previous task. The photograph was carefully returned to its hidey-hole in Eddie’s dresser. He used the action to slightly change the subject. “I’d like to get married one day, have a couple of kids, and look after Mum. I’m not desperate to do all that yet, though. There’s plenty of time to erm… I’m sorry, Eddie, for bringing it up.” 

Eddie gave a faint sniff. “That’s okay.” 

Craig risked peering back at Eddie, having physically covered up the evidence. “No, I am sorry. I thought for a minute that you meant she’d divorced you and gone off somewhere, because that’s what people do.”

Eddie could well imagine what had raced through young Craig’s head. Things like: who’d want to stick around a husband who was so useless? Hadn’t his own mother said that at one point to him? Not that she had liked Carla in the slightest, not from day one when he’d been thrilled to introduce her to his parents. Carla had certainly gone through a lot for him, thinking back. The question of why had plagued him for a long time. She hadn’t deserved any of that stress; but she had deserved to be loved, and he had loved her oh so much. Still did. 

“Eddie?” 

Craig had crept up on him and startled him with his query. He looked up to see why he was being gently called. 

“Eddie, are you alright?” Craig’s face was a sea of concern.

He tried to answer jovially, and he did manage to say, “Fine.”

“No you’re not,” Craig insisted. “You’re erm…” He then pointed vaguely at Eddie’s head.

Eddie blinked and found tears on his lashes, blurring his vision. That was it; the game was up. There was no way he could deny this one. Instead he decided to brazen it out. “Yes,” he said simply.

Oh dear! What should he do? Craig was at a loss faced with such deep-felt emotion, and briefly wondered what his mum would do. There was only one course of action left open to him. “Would you like some tea?” he asked.

“Please,” Eddie answered, amused by Craig’s strategy. It completely endeared the lad to him. 

“I’ll be right back,” Craig declared, and he almost flew out of the door as he bounded away.

The sound of the grandmother clock in the hall could be heard to tick on, but Eddie didn’t find it ominous; it was the heartbeat of the place, after all. It reminded his own heart to carry on beating, pacing out each second and urging him on. 

It would get better, he told himself. It had to because she had promised it would. As the sound of Craig and Marie’s voices filtered down to him from the corridor he smiled to himself. When had she ever broken her word? Never. This was just another step on the way; another painful nudge to prove she was still with him. 

Forever and always. 

He could almost feel her arms around him as he drifted off to sleep and fell into a pleasant dream.


	12. Christmas Cracker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written at the request of **develish1** , saying I should give Eddie some happiness, coz he deserves a little Christmas cheer too dammit!

“Look at this mop of hair,” Aggie blurted out as she combed Eddie’s admittedly bedraggled hair. “At this rate people will think you’re a girl, and then you’ll nick all the blokes’ attention when we next go round the park.”

“Oi!” Eddie complained when she paused for breath. “Not a girl.”

“You pout any more than that, mister, and I’ll apply lipstick to them lips,” she playfully threatened. Leaning down to stare him straight in the face, she told him, “You are far too good looking for your own good, Eddie Jameson. If I wasn’t taken I’d consider you.”

This was the first time he had heard this; any of this! “You’re taken?” he sadly asked.

“I’m afraid so,” she replied, and stood up to smile wistfully. “His name’s Gary and he works down near the market.”

“What as?” he asked. “Male model?”

Aggie giggled. “As if! A model for Airfix kits maybe, but at least he’s mine.” Seeing Eddie’s crestfallen expression, she patted his arm, “But you’re still my number one, and always will be.”

“Thanks,” he replied, but wasn’t really consoled. If Aggie had someone in her life she would probably leave him; and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her sunny smile that lit up his life.

“I’m not eloping to some foreign country, so there’s no need to look as though I’ve stolen your puppy,” Aggie remarked. “I have every intention of staying here as long as they want me.”

“You do?” he wondered, considerably brighter now.

“Of course. Now give me a hug, you silly bugger,” she softly order, and wrapped her arms around him. “Merry Christmas, Eddie,” she whispered, and to his surprised delight she kissed his cheek.

He murmured what he hoped was a suitable response, since it was a jumble of sounds, and almost managed a proper hug back. It was wonderful to hug someone again.

Aggie pulled back and desperately wiped at her eyes. “Look at me getting all emotional. You certainly know how to turn me into mush.”

“Me?” He mischievously smiled at her.

She loved it when he was this eager; she lived for days like this when he teased her back. “Yes, you!” she accused him with a point of her finger. “You massive heartbreaker. And don’t shake your head at me; you know very well the effect you have.”

Eddie reaching out to touch her hand almost made Aggie lose control completely. “Sorry,” he said.

“I don’t think you are sorry at all,” she complained to cover herself; but spoilt the effect by briefly hugging him again. “Would you like to see your present?”

“Present?” he repeated as his mouth gaped open in surprise. “But I…”

She tsked at him. “I know you didn’t buy me anything, but that isn’t the point. I wanted to get you a little something.” She then dipped a hand into her pocket, drew out a small, carefully wrapped parcel, and placed it on his lap. “I didn’t do it up too tightly, but I’ll help you open it if you want.”

“Please,” he gasped, overcome with gratitude that she had thought of him.

“Don’t tell anyone I did this, as they’ll all get jealous,” she told him as she guided his fingers to rip away the paper.

It was a tie, covered with dancing Santas. Eddie giggled with delight. Somehow the loud pattern was typical of Aggie.

Her reward was him raising happy eyes to her. “And that’s not all,” she confided.

“It’s not?” he asked in confusion.

Using her best announcer’s voice, she declared, “No. Today, Eddie Jameson of Harewood House, is not an ordinary Christmas Day. Because this is your lunch!”

He frowned at her as though she had gone mad. The effect was added to when she did it again.

“I said ‘this is your lunch’!” she said much louder.

What was she playing at? He almost pitied her, then the door to his room burst open.

“Merry Christmas, Eddie!” Craig proclaimed, beaming at him.

The breath stuck in his throat, and he fought for the ability to say anything. “Merry…,” he got as far as saying when Craig’s mum, Natalie, appeared in the room behind her son and lunged to hug Eddie; pressing a sound kiss to his cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Eddie,” she also proclaimed. “Guess what! They’re allowing us to take you for the day. We’re having Christmas dinner together.”

“Oh!” Eddie couldn’t find the words to express his joy. He was going to escape the place for a day; and with such lovely people! “Natalie...”

“I know,” she interrupted him. “We had to beg and beg to get them to let us, but Craig was determined to have you.”

Eddie swept his gaze between their eager faces, although Craig was also looking quite embarrassed at this confession.

He hadn’t realised he had failed to give a proper answer until Natalie asked him, “Well, are you coming with us or not?”

He quickly nodded. “Yes, please.”

Aggie clapped her hands together. “Thank goodness for that! Craig, can you get his new tie done up for him, please, and I’ll go get the wheelchair.”

Craig wavered for a second and then stepped forward to take the tie from Eddie’s lap, peering at it with disgust as he dealt with his task. “I hate ties,” he admitted to Eddie. “They remind me of school.”

“Craig!” Natalie admonished him. “That’s Eddie’s Christmas present! Don’t be so rude.”

“Sorry,” Craig mumbled as he finished tying the knot. “All ready to go. Are you okay, Eddie?”

“Very,” Eddie replied, happy tears shining in his eyes. It was already officially the best Christmas he had ever had.

Aggie surreptitiously passed him a tissue from over his shoulder, and wished him a great day as Craig pushed him away in the wheelchair she had delivered. Watching them go, her only regret was that she wouldn’t see Eddie’s face when Craig and his mum offered him a permanent home, as they planned to do that later that day.

With that joyful thought in her head, she practically skipped away to deal with her next resident.


	13. Christmas Crime

Eddie snuffled awake and found himself sitting in a deep armchair within an unfamiliar room. Panic threatened to overwhelm him as the nightmare he’d just had ebbed away and he tried to make sense of his surroundings. It was obviously somebody’s lounge, with the emphasis being on comfort rather than style. Desperately he swept his gaze about, picking up clues as he went as to whose home it was as wakefulness was regained; and found himself being stared at by a little girl aged about two or three years old. He rarely got to see small children for long so it was hard for him to decipher ages.

She was quite sweet to look at, with long golden ringlets tied up with a large pink ribbon, and vivid blue eyes that peered at him in confusion.

“Mum! Nat’lie! The man! He waked up!” she shouted to someone somewhere in the distance; and ran off to he didn’t know where since he was unable to turn his body to watch her departure.

There was an answering, “It’s alright, darling. He won’t hurt you. Go and say hello to Eddie for me.”

After some scuffling, her little head appeared in his peripheral vision, and she stood clutching a small, worn out pink teddy bear that had once had real eyes but now only had buttons. A scowl sat on her face as she regarded him. It reminded him of the many times such young children had stood and queried his silence back in the residential home.

“Hello,” he pushed out to say to her, hoping to dislodge that scowl.

“’ello,” she replied reluctantly. “You got sweets,” she then stated.

Had he? And then he remembered the box of Cadbury’s “Heroes” Craig had placed on his lap before he had dozed off, full of Natalie’s delicious Christmas dinner. Well, he thought he’d eaten loads, but she had eyed him with concern. At first he had thought it was due to needing Craig’s help to get most of it down, but later he wondered if she had rumbled him. At least she hadn’t questioned him yet.

The box of chocolate goodies now sat resting between his hip and the cushions. “You can… have one,” he stammered out to the little girl, flicking his gaze momentarily towards the box in invitation.

Unfortunately the scowl slightly stayed, but it was a better expression as she stepped forward and stole a chocolate from the open box. With careful concentration, she unwrapped her choice and shoved it into her mouth; smirking at him as she did so. As she chewed she obviously was thinking about him. “Why you not talk?” she asked as she approached him, and placed her hands on his knees to view him up close as the teddy fell, to lie abandoned on the floor by his feet. 

The onslaught of her questioning gaze made him answer, “I can.”

She shook her head to show her disagreement. “You talk funny.” There was a pause before she proclaimed, “I want ‘nother one.”

Oh! Should she be allowed another chocolate? He didn’t know how these things worked. And why was she so close to him? It was making him very uncomfortable being peered at so intensely. “Better ask,” he advised.

She frowned and offered him a pout. But it was a pretty pout. “Want one,” she repeated; and to his absolute horror, she climbed onto his lap. Taking no notice of his inner distress, she picked up the box of chocolates and dived in. “You want one?” she asked in friendly tones, holding up an item to almost his nose. “I can do it for you. See!” She then proceeded to unwrap the chocolate without any grace, and tried to place it in his mouth. 

He instantly resisted without thinking. Anything handled by someone else was a no no; and anxiety threatened to hit him hard. 

“Rebecca! What are you doing to poor Eddie?!” yelled out a fearful voice. A blur of dark red whooshed in and grabbed the girl off his lap; and then Natalie stood apologetically holding who he now knew to be called Rebecca out of harm’s way. “You do not climb onto Eddie, do you hear? He doesn’t want a great big lump like you squashing him,” she sternly told the little girl.

Rebecca did not look very repentant. “He my friend, an’ wanted a choc’late,” she defended herself cheerily. “See!” She still held the melted chocolate in her tiny hand, and she showed Natalie it with much pride.

“And look what you’ve done to poor Eddie! You’ve smeared chocolate all over his face. He’ll never want to come back here again at this rate.” Natalie then put the girl down and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go get you cleaned up,” she said before turning her attention onto Eddie. “I’m really sorry about this. I look after her most mornings, so she had to come and see me today. I’ll be back in a sec to wash your face.”

There was the sound of Rebecca protesting about being dealt with by someone else out in the kitchen when Natalie reappeared anxiously holding a wet flannel. “Here goes,” she muttered to herself, and then attacked his face with it when she drew near enough. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never done this to an adult,” she immediately apologised, and then dried his face off with the soft towel she’d carried in; adding in a caress across his chin. “All done. Is that better?”

Well, that was new! He watched her every movement with keen interest. Did she see him as a man or a child? It was hard to tell. 

At that moment Craig crashed in through the main door, startling Natalie from her perch on the arm of Eddie’s chair. “It’s freezing out there,” he declared. “I got Nan home alright. Are Cath and Rebecca here yet?”

“C’aig!” Rebecca ran up to him and squealed with delight when he picked her up in a hug.

“Hello Rebecca! What did Father Christmas bring you?” Craig asked her, grinning broadly.

“I got a new baby,” Rebecca supplied. “A Baby Annabell.”

“Did you?” Craig asked in mock wonder. 

Rebecca eagerly nodded. “She asleep at home in her bed. I got that too, an’ lo’s a baby clothes.”

“Aren’t you lucky? I wish I had a Baby Annabell,” Craig enthused.

“You can play wiv mine, C’aig,” Becky magnanimously offered. “She need a daddy.”

Craig couldn’t help laughing at that. “Does that mean I get to marry you?”

“Yes,” Rebecca answered thoughtfully. “I’m gonna marry you when I grow up.” She accompanied this with an action to show going upwards.

There was no answer to that really, so Craig put her down and asked, “Have you said hello to Eddie yet?”

She sighed as though he was asking a very daft question. “Yes! He waked up an’ I gave him choc’late.” She swivelled as she hung onto his hand, and posed the question that was clearly prevalent in her mind. “C’aig, is Eddie your new daddy?”

No way could Craig contain the laughter that burst from him. “No, Rebecca. Eddie is my friend. He won’t want to come here again if he hears you say that.”

“Why?” she inevitably asked with great interest.

“Because,” he told her, adding in a playful push on her nose, “there’s a naughty little girl who turns up here most days.”

“I not naughty!” she protested indignantly.

“Craig, don’t tease her,” Natalie chastised him. “Now help carry in the tea things.”

“Right oh, Mum,” Craig replied with a cheeky grin. “Where do you want them put?”

Natalie appeared back in the room holding some plates, cautiously followed by her friend Cath, who peered briefly at Eddie as she entered and then sat herself as far away from him as possible. Rebecca stayed steadfastly by Craig’s side, who obviously generally made a fuss of her when she visited.

Eddie eyed the plates of food with some dread. More food?! This was beyond the pale. He would have to politely decline somehow.

He was broken from his thoughts by Natalie standing in front of him, wondering brightly, “What can I get you to eat, Eddie?”

Oh dear, oh dear. After gearing himself up, he managed to huff out, “I don’t…”

“How about I give you a little bit of each thing?” Natalie proposed, cocking her head in that way people often do, and then skipped away to do so before he could even attempt to stop her movements.

Craig grinned at him reassuringly from where he sat still idly playing with Rebecca. “I’ll eat anything you don’t want, so don’t worry. After we’ve eaten I’ll get you washed and ready for bed.”

That confused Eddie considerably. He was expecting to travel back to the home first. “Bed?” he queried.

“Yes, Eddie.” Craig beamed at him with suppressed glee. “You are staying with us tonight. In fact,” he said, leaning closer to place a hand of comfort on Eddie’s bony knee, “if this goes well and you like it here, this might be the first of many nights you stay with us.” Seeing Eddie’s conflicted emotions, Craig quickly added, “We’re hoping that you’ll want to be here permanently.”

“It’s true,” Natalie confirmed when Eddie turned his instantly wet gaze onto her. 

“Why’s the man crying?” Rebecca blurted out in open curiosity as tears dribbled down his cheeks, unbidden.

Natalie sniffed back her own tears. “Sometimes we cry ‘cause we’re happy.”

Rebecca peered at her curiously as Craig mopped up Eddie’s face with a fresh tissue. “Why are you happy?”

“Because, Miss Nose Ointment, we might get to keep Eddie for ever,” Natalie explained as she wiped the back of her hands across her eyes. “Wouldn’t that be good?”

There was a shy nod of agreement; from both Rebecca and Eddie, much to her amusement.

“It’s okay,” Craig whispered to Eddie when he found his hand being gratefully clasped. “I’ll look after you; I swear. Nothing bad will happen.”

For once in his traumatic life Eddie allowed himself to believe it. Finally he had hope back.


	14. Saturday Night Terrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** implied violence and torture  
>  **A/N:** I wasn't going to post this but **develish1** urged me to.

With a gasp, Eddie came to and tried desperately to call out, but his voice remained muffled by the thick rough brown cloth wrapped tightly round his head. Any movement was nigh on impossible since tight ropes had been placed around his arms, hands and ankles. His skin was red raw from many previous attempts to gain some comfort; escape had long been an invalid option.

“Mother!” he attempted to cry. It was futile but the action was involuntary; it astounded him that he still thought to call for her despite everything.

Somewhere in the dusty gloom someone laughed. A deep, low chuckle; followed by words unknown.

Something about the sound set it apart from his captors. He didn’t recognise the deep throaty voice. Were they there to help him? Was his ordeal finally over?

“Help me, please!” he groaned out, and was instantly hit on the side of the head.

He staggered sideways, felled by the blunt instrument, and stunned by the ferocity. Blood slowly trickled down over his ear and no doubt into the collar of his grubby shirt. What had he done wrong this time? 

More murmurings followed. Suspiciously quiet mutterings that he instinctively knew were about him.

Then something narrow prodded him in the side, near his left kidney; and he reflexively squealed. That brought more menacing mirth. They were obviously out to use him for fun again.

Why couldn’t they speak English for once? Just a snippet to remind him that he counted. Surely somebody in this world cared?

Then he felt the heat slowly rising in the air surrounding him; not the usual heat of the day in this arid hot place, but something more threatening. The taste in the meagre air changed to a familiar one from long ago; and his senses went on red alert!

“Fire!” he tried to yell, but the thick cloth hampered his efforts to do little more than whimper the cry.

No one came to his aid, and the intensity of the heat grew. He could hear it creeping nearer as objects combusted, crackling as the wood sap boiled. 

Just as he thought he could stand this no longer, and that the flames would be lapping at his skin any second, his lungs constricted; sucking every single breath out of him.

Fighting for his life, he sought to find an ounce of air, and woke as he screamed loudly. Sweat dripped off him, his whole body was shaking with fear, and he felt physically sick as remembered pain trekked through him. 

A hand touched him in the unfamiliar replacement darkness that surrounded him. A gentle hand that soothed his brow, belonging to a voice that spoke to reassure him he was safe now. 

It worked. Eddie felt himself start to gradually calm down as the vivid nightmare ebbed away. The voice was telling him he had managed to wrap himself up in the bed sheet covering him, and that they had found him underneath the pillows. He wanted to cry with relief, except he was already crying as the memory of those moments melted away.

Manly arms wrapped themselves around his thin body, and gently rocked him to offer much needed comfort.

“It’s okay, Eddie. I’ve got you now,” Craig softly crooned to him, all the while placing tender touches on his face and ignoring the tears there. 

“What happened?” the sleepy voice of Natalie hit them; and Eddie wanted to curl up and die with embarrassment.

“Nothing, Mum. Just go back to bed,” Craig ordered her. “Eddie woke up.”

“That didn’t sound like just waking up to me,” Natalie sarkily commented.

Craig sighed. “I said it’s nothing,” he told her, sounding more strained than he had been a minute beforehand. “I’ll make sure Eddie is okay then I’ll go and make us all a drink. Would you like that, Eddie? I can do you a nice cup of hot chocolate if you like.”

Eddie felt the beats of his heart slowing; and waited a few counts before he answered, “Yes, please.” Any drink would be welcomed to his parched mouth, but chocolate would soothe away the last of the nastiness of his dream. 

There was a smile in Craig’s voice when he fondly said, “I’ll adjust your pillows first, sit you up and then go do you some. I dunno about you, but I could go a biscuit too.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Natalie offered, still staying respectfully outside the room. 

‘Please get her out of here’, Eddie silently begged. ‘Please.’ The last thing he wanted to do was explain the horror he had just escaped from again.

“Erm… Put the kettle on, please. I won’t be too long.” Craig finished his soothing touches and began to deal with the bed.

“Right oh. See you down there,” Natalie replied, and bustled off towards the kitchen.

Shifting the bed pillows about, Craig remarked to Eddie, “Sorry about that. Mum likes to fuss, but she means well. She’s grown to like you an awful lot.”

Peering at him in the now semi-darkness, Eddie couldn’t help wondering, “Why?”

“Now don’t you go thinking you’re a pain in the butt, Eddie! I know how you get these ideas. I told you Mum would grow fond of you once she met you, and I was right. Do you want the light on?” Craig asked as he finished rearranging the bedding, and surreptitiously removed the tissues he had used to mop Eddie up.

“Please,” Eddie pushed out with relief. 

The side lamp pinged and its light burst into the room; and Craig stood there expectantly, bent low over Eddie. He was using his encouraging smile; which was no mean achievement given the time the alarm clock was showing. 

Gratitude welled up in Eddie. This young man had done so much for him in the short space of time he had known him. Far more than many members of his own family had done. He lifted a heavy hand towards Craig, and tried to say his name. “Cr…”

Craig caught hold of his hand, and gave it a brief squeeze. “It’s okay, Eddie. I know. Me too. I’ll erm… I’ll go do that hot chocolate for you, if you don’t mind being alone for a short while. I’ve put Mr Flibble on sentry duty.” He nodded to where a penguin puppet sat looking menacing at the foot of the bed. “He’s been doing a good job so far, don’t you think?”

A small chuckle escaped Eddie’s lips. He’d forgotten about Mr Flibble, but the sight of him lightened the mood. Who could have known that he would rediscover watching Red Dwarf with Craig after all these years? It had been a wonderful moment of discovery. And it had made him want to please Craig in return.

Placing a cautious hand on Eddie’s shoulder, Craig asked him, “On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it now?”

There was only one answer Eddie could give to that, so he puffed out, “Smeg.”

It had the desired effect, because it made Craig laugh and understand his plight all at once. 

“Hot chocolate,” he announced, and disappeared out of the door.

Eddie was grateful that Craig made sure he could be heard going down to the kitchen and talking inanely to his mum as the kettle boiled. A home full of normal noise was exactly what he needed right then.


	15. Sunday Soothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I found this on my iPad the other morning, so I thought I might as well finish and post it as a possible end piece.

It was Maria who picked up Eddie in a special taxi from Craig’s the following morning and accompanied him home. Natalie had seemed quite upset to lose her guest, wiping desperately at her face as they waved goodbye, Maria noted. 

The sun was making a brave attempt to filter through the wintery day. Normally Eddie would have been agog to see the scenery but he was clearly tired, having been temporarily drained by the experience, and had lightly dozed in his wheelchair on the short journey back. As it was, Maria wasn’t too worried about this since Craig had informed her about Eddie’s bad nightmare and how they had dealt successfully with it. Apparently it had been an eye opener for Natalie whereas Craig had taken it all in his stride.

Still, things were looking positive for Eddie, so only time would tell if they would be manage to obtain him on a more permanent basis. The worse hurdle had been overcome. 

“We’re here, Eddie,” Maria said as she gently shook him awake. “Is it good to be back?”

“Yes,” Eddie began to say groggily, “and no.” It had been good but he was glad to be home. Any sting in his words was taken away by the broad smile of achievement on his face. 

Patting Eddie affectionately on the shoulder, Maria set about getting him out of the taxi. A few short minutes later she was wheeling him off the motorised ramp and inside from the cold wind.

It was Aggie who was first to triumphantly greet Eddie when he returned to Harewood House and appeared within the warmth of the building. In fact she flung her arms around his slim shoulders and hugged him tight once she had helped him out of his wheelchair.

“Miss me?” Eddie wondered, in ecstatic, short puffs of breath. 

“Not at all,” Aggie teasingly replied. “I’m doing this because I hate you.” 

Eddie happily rested his head on her shoulder, glad to be so warmly welcomed in her firm embrace. As it was he could have stayed like that for years, but inevitably it would have to end. “More than Gary?” he joked from his safe spot nuzzled into her neck.

“I hate him and all,” Aggie agreed, keen to include her fiancé in this way. “But you’ll always have a top spot in my life.”

Murray appeared in the doorway then, and peered at the scene with fondness. “I dunno, he leaves us for only five minutes and you start treating him like the prodigal son.” A hand was held out to assist Eddie to walk to his usual chair in the lounge. “Did you have a good time round our Craig’s?”

Releasing his almost tight hold on Aggie, Eddie considered Murray’s question as he attempted the few steps to a particular fireside chair. “Yes. It was friendly,” he muttered after some seconds.

“I hope you’re not going to run off and leave me now,” Aggie joined in. “You and me have a set date in the park on Saturdays.”

A huge grin was her immediate answer. “The park is brilliant.”

“Yeah yeah, I know; you just use me to chat up all the young women down by the tennis courts,” Aggie mockingly complained. “Anyone would think I’m ugly.”

There was no way Eddie could let that go, so he geared himself up to retort, “Supermodel. My supermodel.”

“Who is?” Aggie asked, clearly confused as to who he was referring to out of all the possible people they’d met.

“You,” he insisted, feeling very proud of delivering the compliment.

A blush appeared on her cheeks. “Geroff! You flatterer. Now if you were talking about your Natalie I could understand it.”

“Mine?” he murmured in disbelief. Eddie would certainly not claim any sort of ownership where Natalie was concerned; although he had wondered about it being the other way around. With as fervent a shake of the head as he could manage, he clasped Aggie’s hand and assured her, “Your heart, head and soul… beautiful.”

“Oh Eddie!” Aggie cried, and hastily wiped at her eyes. “You say the nicest things. I’d marry you tomorrow if I weren’t taken, so it’s a good job for you that I am.”

“Not so,” he disagreed, because to him Aggie was the most beautiful person he was ever likely to meet. She had brought so much light and sunshine into his life, and he wanted her to understand how much he loved her for it.

When Murray laughed at her discomfort she pulled Eddie into another hug and kissed his cheek soundly. “When I get married I’m having you as my maid of honour; but without wearing a pink fluffy dress, obviously,” she added the last bit when his face looked appalled. “Although I might find a kilt for you to wear instead. You wouldn’t mind that, would you?”

Eddie scrunched his face in thought. Would he mind? Kilts can look extremely dashing, after all. Except he couldn’t wear one properly and go commando; the risks would be too great in his condition. “Maybe,” he allowed himself to answer.

Aggie and Murray exchanged a satisfied look. It was the best answer they could have hoped for, because at one time it would have been a flat out no. 

“Just for that, you get a cup of tea and a biscuit,” Aggie immediately promised.

“And you can’t say fairer than that,” Murray cheerfully remarked. 

No, not all, Eddie thought as he made himself at home again.


	16. Night Of The Long Knives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I found this sitting on my hard drive, doing nothing, so I thought I might as well post it.

“What’s the capital of Syria?” asked the TV host to the befuddled contestant on a game show.

Sitting in front of the television in his usual chair, a particular word burst out of Eddie’s mind; bringing with it dark, hidden thoughts long considered buried. 

“Damascus.” 

Supplying the answer was an involuntary action of Eddie’s. He never wanted to think of that place again; any time would be too soon. The only good thing about it had been getting to the airport to come home. Even the helicopter ride hadn’t excited him. All he’d done was fret as he expected them to be shot down out of the sky at any moment. There was no reason for the gunners not to aim for the helicopter as it lifted and turned.

“I would never have known that one,” Craig announced to the room before realising Eddie had answered correctly. “How come…,” he began to ask, but the question was wiped away by his concern as Eddie sat there tightly wrapped up in his unpleasant thoughts, his whole body trembling.

The pain had been terrible, there was no word that could ever describe it sufficiently, but a military medic had pumped him full of morphine as soon as they had hauled him into the helicopter. Hot arid air had threatened to choke him as blaring sunlight did its best to permanently blind him.

“Careful!” a soldier had gruffly shouted as the stretcher had been almost thrown into the safety of the helicopter hold. 

But all Eddie had been glad of was the relative darkness and the never ending thought that he was escaping; finally escaping from his hell. He didn’t care if it was real or not; whether he was alive or secretly dead. This place wasn’t there, and that was all that mattered. 

“Thank God we saw the smoke,” one soldier remarked conversationally.

“Yeah. He’d have been a definite goner if we hadn’t,” the medic who adjusted an IV into Eddie’s arm replied. He leaned down to speak directly into Eddie’s ear to reassure him, “We’ll soon be out of here, mate. Then the hospital will patch you up and send you on your way in next to no time.”

Any attempt to say anything in return had been stifled by the oxygen mask clamped over his face. Not that he was sure he could have said very much; even if this was a dream, filled with efficiently blunt British soldiers. He remembered meeting such blokes before the long days of his incarceration. It was probably why he had dragged them into this dream….

Then one of them seemed to be grasping his shoulders.

“EDDIE!” screamed Craig in fright. “Can you hear me?”

Trying to force his eyes open, Eddie heard rapid footsteps in the distance. ‘Surely you wouldn’t hear footsteps on a helicopter?’ his perplexed mind tried to decide.

“What’s all the noise for? Oh my God!” Murray exclaimed when he entered the room and saw Eddie almost convulsing out of his chair. 

Eddie felt gentle hands moving his body; ones that he didn’t have to fight off, despite having an initial feeble attempt to do so. Was this it? Were they finally going to kill him, or had they reached this hospital they kept going on about? Either way, it was a welcome ending; and he grit his teeth as he fought against instinct in order to accept his fate. 

More footsteps; then a scream. A long horrendous scream.

A female scream. What? That didn’t seem right. It should have been him who was screaming. Who was she? Wanting to see who the woman could be, wanting the last face he would ever see to be prettier than the thugs that had featured so heavily in his recent life, Eddie slowly opened his eyes.

A face swam into view. She wasn’t conventionally pretty, but she was very pleasant to look at, and her clothing was colourful in a warm and soothing way. Her eyes gazed at him with love and concern, her mouth moved with words he couldn’t hear, but he wanted to talk to her, say anything to take that horrified look off her face. 

“Aggie,” he gasped out after some seconds as recognition flared through his groggy haze. “What are…?” He only mentally managed to finish, “….you doing here?” 

He felt so weak; so very weak. A puff of wind would have blown him over but her expression gave him courage to fight it.

She wiped desperately at her eyes then gave him a wan grin. “Worrying about you, obviously,” she pointed out fondly. “You gave us a scare for a moment.”

“Me?” How on Earth had he scared them? And who were these other people? He turned his head to look beyond her and saw Murray and Craig kneeling on the floor close by. “I don’t…” 

There was a swift movement, then he found himself being hugged within Aggie’s arms; and he had never welcomed such an act before as he did then. “Don’t ever leave me. Please don’t leave me,” he thought at her as he tried to return the embrace.

Aggie felt his arms try to hug her back and she strengthened her hold on him, letting his head fall onto her shoulder and his face nuzzle into her neck. She’d have done anything for him in that moment, anything that gave him relief. “You’re okay. I’ve got you,” she crooned.


	17. Dashed and Dangerous 1

Mick. That’s what they’d said his name was. Mick Briscoe. He was a huge brute of a man, and ate like a horse on steroids, according to what Craig had told him. 

It had been hate at first sight for Eddie as he’d gazed at Natalie’s new boyfriend from somewhere under his long fringe. His knowing gaze had taken in every nuance. Natalie had been all flustered and danced about in agitation when she’d first made the introductions when Mick eventually turned up to show his face after a few aborted attempts. Craig had been dismissive about that too.

There had been no smiling welcoming expression when Mick had entered the house and noticed Eddie sitting there, in the alpha armchair. Probably HIS chair, self-assigned.

“Mick, I want you to meet our friend Eddie; the one I told you about. Once Social Services can give us the go ahead, he’ll be living with us,” Natalie had eagerly explained, flicking her anxious gaze between the two men who were complete opposites to each other. She really _really_ wanted this to go right. Mick was going to be a key player in her future, so she needed his approval. “I’ll just leave you two alone for a moment while I go and make some tea for us all.”

She had then sped away, leaving Eddie to sit under Mick’s scrutiny. Oh, he’d seen that look before; it never bode well. So this was the boyfriend that Craig had sneered to him about. It wasn’t exactly a huge surprise to hear Craig slag off his mum’s latest love interest because, in his words, she tended to choose complete idiots who hurt her in the end, but Eddie could easily see what Craig’s objections were. The man was a near Neanderthal, making no attempt to talk to him as though he was normal. Of course the term ‘normal’ was always up for debate, but Eddie always appreciated the pretence Natalie and Craig kept up that things were okay.

Beyond a really vague and mumbled “Hi,” Mick hadn’t really spoken to him. He’d just sat himself down as though he owned the place, picked up the newspaper, turning straight to the sports pages, and stared at Eddie as though he was a specimen in a jar.

It reminded Eddie too much of the incidents when he’d been bullied and attacked as a teenager, for being too weird, and therefore below contempt. That had always been the justification for trying to wipe him off the Earth; like he was a diseased organism to be trodden under a hefty boot. And as such, it caused him to hastily avert his gaze, break any eye contact that might provoke such an attack again. The vibe Mick gave off implied he was thinking about it.

“Just leave me alone!” Eddie yelled inside his head at Mick before his thoughts turned to silent prayers, begging God to rescue him from this situation. “Take me back to the home, _please_ God. I promise I’ll try and eat a piece of toast with my evening cocoa but just let me go back to Aggie.”

On and on the seconds ticked by as he felt Mick’s silent analysis judge him as unworthy. By the time Natalie returned to the room holding a tray containing three cups of tea, Eddie’s breathing had turned panicky as his mind fought desperately to hide in his happy place; well away from the real world. 

“Here we are,” she cheerily announced, and then hastily set the tray down. Her attention was immediately drawn to Eddie’s wild-eyed expression. “What did you do to Eddie? Mick, what did you do?!” She was horrified by the state of Eddie; especially after his recent seizure.

“I did nothing,” Mick insisted. “He went all like that the minute you let the room,” he protested. “You shouldn’t have left him with me. I’m no good at that sort of thing.”

Natalie was by Eddie’s side, smoothing a comforting hand down his arm, trying to ease the rising tension she could feel beneath her fingertips. “I should have waited until Craig was here too. This is all my fault.”

“What, I’m supposed to wait in the garden or something while he’s here?” Mick openly wondered; the accusation all too obvious, to anyone that wanted to see it. 

“No, I’m not saying that,” Natalie placated him. “It’s just that Eddie needs careful handling.”

There was a snort of disbelief as Mick picked up his mug of tea to sip in order to judge its temperature. “That’s not all he needs,” he quietly remarked. 

Embarrassment flared across Natalie’s face. “Did you want some cake with your tea?” she asked, standing up as she tried to appease his ire. “I’ve got a choice.”

“Let me come and see what you’ve got,” Mick said, in a manner that wasn’t exactly nasty but it was nowhere near pleasant either. “I don’t want none of that cherry muck you bought last time.”

“As if I would risk that again,” Natalie commented as he followed her out into the kitchen.

Oh, here it comes, Eddie thought. Mick was going to have ‘words’ with Natalie about him being there. He could feel it in his bones. He knew instant dislike when he saw it; and it was mutual. What on Earth did Natalie see in the man? He had the manners of a brick. 

Eddie rested his head back against the cushion of his chair, closed his eyes, and listened to their raised whispers from the kitchen.

“What do you mean by that?!” he heard Natalie demand. “I told you we looked after Eddie from time to time. It’s not as though you had no idea what he is like!”

“Yeah, but you never said he was a complete nutcase,” Mick complained. “You’ve only got to look at him to see that!”

“You don’t know him yet. You’ve hardly given him a chance,” she objected. “He’s lovely and Craig adores him. We’ve started the application to keep him so you’ll have to accept that.” 

“Is that wise? How do you know that he won’t turn dangerous on you, eh?” Mick argued. “You hear all sorts of things about mental people and you’ve got to think of little Rebecca, for one. It’s alright Craig wanting him here but what happens when Craig meets a girl, wants to get married, and moves out in a year or so? What happens to you left all on your own to look after a huge man-baby who needs constant care around the clock? You’re not getting any younger, and it’ll end up killing you.”

“Don’t say that,” she gasped out, her voice holding an obvious sob. “It isn’t like that at all.”

“Isn’t it?” Mick maintained. “Because that’s not how it looks to me. If you want to keep him here, that’s fine by me, but don’t expect me to stick around to help you. He’s not my family and he’s not my responsibility. So you’ve got to choose, Natalie, if you want me and you to go further.”

“You’d leave me?” she brokenly wondered.

“After what you’ve said about him and seeing him for myself, I don’t think I’m capable of giving this friend of Craig’s the twenty-four hour care he needs,” Mick argued. “I really love you but this is asking too much of me.”

That was the final nail in the coffin of this particular hope Eddie realised as he scrunched his eyes tight shut against the tears that threatened to spill out. He didn’t even have a name, where Mick was concerned. He was merely the fanciful possession of someone else; someone he suspected Mick would readily push out of Natalie’s life at the first opportunity. Both him and Craig were doomed if Natalie wanted to continue her relationship with Mick. 

“I’ll speak to the home,” he heard Natalie mumble in resignation; and his fate was sealed.

He almost bit through his lip in order to hold in his wail of anguish. How would Craig react to all this? The lad had been full of excited ideas about what they would do together, gaining a pseudo father-son relationship that both of them had secretly craved. It would break his heart all over again to see Craig deal with all this negativity from Mick. 

There was that nice girl, Emma, who worked in the corner shop, to take into consideration. Craig fancied her but hadn’t asked her out yet, but she would soothe his frazzled nerves. There was no doubt in Eddie’s mind that Craig would end up with her; going by the way the girl had fluttered around them whenever Craig had pushed his wheelchair into the shop to buy some last minute provisions. 

No, Craig had a promising future ahead of him. But as for himself…? Time would tell for Eddie. 

All he could hope for in that moment was that he’d make it safely back to the home long before Mick picked him up and chucked him out. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had physically assaulted him in such a way, but he wasn’t keen to repeat it; not now when his hopes had just been dashed. 

There was the sound of soft footsteps across the lounge carpet and then Natalie appeared to stand in front of him, wringing her hands together in agitation. “Did you erm… did you want some cake, Eddie?”

He managed to lift his head up enough to shake it. “No thanks.”

“Come on, you must eat something,” she tried to cajole him. “I bought your favourite.”

“No,” he repeated, “I…” And then fell silent as things started to slip away. “No, I can’t. I don’t deserve to eat. I just want to die!” he despondently thought at her. 

“Mick! Call an ambulance!” she cried out in fright as Eddie began to convulse. “Shit, oh shit, oh shit!” she chanted to herself, and set about trying to follow what Murray had instructed her to do in such a situation. “It’s alright, Eddie, it’s alright,” she muttered in more softer tones, reassuring herself that he was still alive by caressing his hair; but he wasn’t with her anymore.

He had welcomed the blackness that swallowed him up.


End file.
